I was thinking about this in another thread. When you are young it is easy enough so I never wrote it down. But, after 35 years or so of deer hunting I have lost track. I kill two most years, but some years one and some years four or five. I wish I had kept some kind of diary. Might be a good idea for some of you young guys cause your memory will go south on you sooner or later. Of course that gives you the luxury of remembering stuff that didn't happen and forgetting stuff that did.

I'm 22 and have been hunting for 7 years and I have killed 15 deer and it is getting harder to remember specific deer and hunts, I can imagine as I get older I will lose track of how many deer I have killed.

Well in 20+ years of deer hunting I have harvested 42 deer with Bow, muzzle loader/shotgun and centerfire rifle.

There are a few moose and some bears and a piggy or two in that time frame as well as a lot of grouse and ducks.

I have always kept a log and not really for the reason of keeping track of the kills, but to determine patterns and hot spots and what I call last chance hunting spots, where the chance of harvesting any deer would be better than 80% in the case of inclement weather usually.

The log does help in bringing to mind the various hunts since they are fairly detailed, because unlike some I don't take pictures of the various game animals, just something that was never a big thing in my family, so memories are all you have.

ill be 40 soon enough. I have killed a deer most years since I was 14. A few years I got both archery and Rifle. Id say about 30 deer all together but that may be a little high. I have also gotten 4 elk, 2 hogs, 1 moose, 3 black bear, 1 buffalo and 1 Kodiak. Out side of the deer I remember them well but the deer all kind of blend together. I was going to get a Wolf but I never saw one last year during hunting season though I saw a lot out side of the season.

about 75% of my deer in the last 8-10 years have been shot from my back porch on opening day of hunting season. They love my Apple trees and I like them smoked with the wood from those same apples trees.

Most of my deer have been killed with a 357 magnum Marlin. I have killed a few with the 45/70 and a few others with a my S&W 357 magnum model 686. I have taken 1 deer with a 12ga, and 2 with my fathers 30-06 when i was still a teenager.

I hope to some day take one with a Semiautomatic. I have a Coonan Classic with a 6 inch barrel that should do the trick and is the the Caliber I feel most comfortable and trust. We have what is called a "short range hunt" on Idaho where hand guns in a strait walled cartrage with a round that was originally designed for a hand gun is acceptable. I am thinking Ill use the Coonan in that one.

__________________Shot placement is everything! I would rather take a round of 50BMG to the foot than a 22short to the base of the skull.

all 25 of my guns are 45/70 govt, 357 mag, 22 or 12 ga... I believe in keeping it simple

My father-in-law was a big rabbit hunter and after he died, his sons found a diary (or log) that he had been keeping for many years. The diary detailed all the hunts, the dogs that were used, weather conditions, who hunted with him, and anecdotes about each hunt. This diary consisted of three big spiral notebooks. All we could figure was that after every hunt, the old man went to his room and jotted down pertinent facts about each hunt to remind him what covers were productive during each hunt and how the dogs worked under varying weather conditions.

A log like that is a good idea. I know that his sons took a great deal of comfort from it.

A log like that is a good idea. I know that his sons took a great deal of comfort from it.

I've always wished I kept better notes. We party hunt here in Iowa so some years I kill five or six, some years I don't shoot at all, anywhere in between, no idea how many I've killed.

But I did find a neat little notebook at a local outdoor shop, "Rite in the Rain" all weather notebook. About 4" x 5 1/2", water resistant paper, fits in my back pocket, has plastic covers front and back. Been using one for a month or so for daily notes for work and play, every day in my back pocket, no signs of wear. Right next to it they had a "Hunter's Logbook". Same construction, just a little more specific in purpose and hunter orange covers. I'll be keeping better notes from now on.

Can't really call it. I've tagged some four dozen bucks, roughly. I never kept track of does on the home place, nor the deer I killed there during a culling program of three or so years. Keeping count just never seemed important.

__________________
You're from BATFE? Come right in! I use all your fine products!

My memory has faded, I read the thread this morning and almost started to cry because I can't remember all of them, then I realized that I was lucky enough to be able to hunt this many years successfully for deer, and the best of the stories I remember but not all.

More than 200, but less than 300. The one day max for me was 11 (orders from the ranch management to cull does). No way can I remember all of them, but I do think that I remember all the misses. Luckily, there aren't TOO many of them, but over the years that total has grown also. And for what it's worth, the first deer was taken with a shotgun, the next 10 years of deer were taken with a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington, the next 10 years or so with a Remington Model 700 in 270, followed by decades with a Sako in 270. Also in the mix were a few taken with a 30-06, a few with a 220 Swift, a few with the 223 and the last two years I've used a Ruger 77 MkII in 260.

Well, what got me thinking about it was that the couple I have wounded and couldn't find I remember quite vividly and I was trying to figure what percentage that would be. Doesn't matter much I suppose.

I did not keep track until I got married. The Ex was a picture taker. I have taken pictures since, but over all deer kill I do not know. We did not keep a camp book at the West Virginia camp until a couple years ago. We thought it a good idea to stop arguments about previous years. It works.

Zero.
Since I turned the legal age to hunt, I have never shot a Deer, let alone filled a tag. Though, I must admit... I only hunted Deer for 5 seasons ('96-98, '07-08 {Florida, 3+ months}, '08 {Utah}).

Most of the Deer hunts I've been on have just been so enjoyable, I enjoyed the weather and scenery a bit too much...

__________________"Such is the strange way that man works -- first he virtually destroys a species and then does everything in his power to restore it."

Well, what got me thinking about it was that the couple I have wounded and couldn't find I remember quite vividly and I was trying to figure what percentage that would be. Doesn't matter much I suppose.

Do you hunt with rifles, I presume? The % lost is quite a bit lower with rifles, from what I've seen. Rifle shooters are more likely to practice than people shooting deer slugs and the (massively) better trajectory improves the range estimate margin dramatically. The difference between 75 and 100 with a rifle is irrelevant. It's the difference between hit/miss/wound with a 12ga.
I don't know anybody (though I'm sure such people exist) who practices with deer slugs on a regular basis. Everybody gets the gun out the weekend before the season, shoots a box of slugs and calls it good... if they have a scope. Iron sight guys usually don't even bother.
On top of that, most deer slugs have next to no hydrostatic shock. Most leave the muzzle well below HS speeds, say nothing of impact speeds.
We JUST got rifle hunting in our area, the first season hasn't even started for most of us, some have had a year or two. The limited numbers I've seen with rifle, the loss rate is so far zero. I'm sure it's NOT going to be zero but I wouldn't be surprised if it was under 2-4% long term, for ethical hunters anyway. There's always "shoot, hope and pray" types, regardless of weapon.

Do you hunt with rifles, I presume? The % lost is quite a bit lower with rifles, from what I've seen. Rifle shooters are more likely to practice than people shooting deer slugs and the (massively) better trajectory improves the range estimate margin dramatically. The difference between 75 and 100 with a rifle is irrelevant. It's the difference between hit/miss/wound with a 12ga.
I don't know anybody (though I'm sure such people exist) who practices with deer slugs on a regular basis. Everybody gets the gun out the weekend before the season, shoots a box of slugs and calls it good... if they have a scope. Iron sight guys usually don't even bother.
On top of that, most deer slugs have next to no hydrostatic shock. Most leave the muzzle well below HS speeds, say nothing of impact speeds.
We JUST got rifle hunting in our area, the first season hasn't even started for most of us, some have had a year or two. The limited numbers I've seen with rifle, the loss rate is so far zero. I'm sure it's NOT going to be zero but I wouldn't be surprised if it was under 2-4% long term, for ethical hunters anyway. There's always "shoot, hope and pray" types, regardless of weapon.

I have never hunted with slugs. I have spent more hours bow hunting than anything else. My best bucks have been taken with a muzzle loader and interestingly enough I have never lost a deer with it, plain old side lock. I have lost one deer with the bow and one with a centerfire rifle along with losing one elk with a bow. The deer with the centerfire was only about 100 yards. No excuse for making a bad shot.

I have been hunting since I was old enough to chase my Dad's boot straps. I am in my late 40's now. The is now way I can recount all the deer taken. I remember a good many mostly the big ones or ones with funny stories behind them. I remember a few I started dragging and wish I had never shot. The truck is always a little further than it seemed when I pulled the trigger.

I can tell you the number my son has killed because I have been with him for them all and they are seem to be a little more special to me.

I am thankful for the chance to hunt and take all of them over the years.

Yes. I didn't start hunting until my early 30s, and I'm mid 50s now. I have a running list of deer taken, where, and what I used--rifle, shotgun, bow, handgun, ML. I also make notes of anything particularly unique about a harvest. I review the list periodically, and rehash the trips with my Father-in-law, who was the one who got me started. I enjoy the memories, and write them down so I don't lose them.

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